Secrets Aren't Lies
by Glamek Stalker
Summary: Daisy's blowing off Virgil, Frieda's dating a firey convict, and Richie admits to having a girlfriend for the past year. Where is Virgil in all this frenzy? Well, a little bit lost as a matter of fact.
1. A Lonely Little Virgil is Born

This is something I've been working on in my head for quite some time, but, like usual, what sounds awesome in my head, can't seem to be written as awesome on paper, so please accept what I have managed to type out. Anyways, funny thing happened, I imagined Daisy pregnant, and then two more people with secret significant others came along. One of which is one of my original characters. Now, I'm totally alright with the V/R slash that goes on, but, honestly there's just a little too much for me to handle. No offence it's on going, and well, I wanted Richie to have a reason why he didn't flirt much with other girls and it is because he has a girlfriend several miles away. There we go. And, here we go.

I do not own Static Shock, but the original characters I do.

Takes place after the series ends. They are completing Junior year, that is what I say.

XXX

Secrets Aren't Lies

Chapter one

A Lonely Little Virgil is Born

XXX

Motorcycles excited her. Not for the reason you would think, but for the reason that the man who was picking her up from school today owned a motorcycle, and was giving her a ride. The fact that it was a motorcycle didn't excite her as much as the man riding it. And that still wasn't enough excitement for her. The most excitement she experienced was that she knew that the man on the motorcycle wasn't allowed to see her, and she wasn't allowed to see him. But their friendship was a powerful one. Maybe a little too powerful. After all, they had already had a fling at her old school. They had had a moment two weeks ago, and got drunk together two days ago. She was afraid that maybe she had gone too far allowing him back into her life, but when she heard that motor, and saw his face, she just couldn't say no. And when he was pressing his lips to hers she would just melt into his arms, and forget that she had ever hated him before.

She moved her eyes to the clock. Just ten more minutes to go.

"Hey, Daisy," a voice caught her attention and she looked away from the clock towards the boy standing next to her. It was their homeroom hour, which only lasted twenty minutes, and the homeroom teacher was lenient with everything, so hearing voices chattering as their owners played X-Box wasn't uncommon in this room. "You wanna catch a movie with me tonight? I got my dad's car. The nice one too."

Daisy was still stuck on the time, the image of the clock burned into her retinas. She barely noticed Virgil talking to her. "Hm?"

"I was thinking about that new movie. I wouldn't like it too much, but I figured you might. What do you say?"

She finally was able to focus her attention on the darker boy in front of her. "Which movie?" She almost forgot she had plans after school.

"I think it was called…I don't know, London something. I saw it advertised on TV. It's about this boyfriend and girlfriend and they go backpacking in Europe, but the boyfriend's not interested in the sights in Paris. He's not even interested in his girlfriend. And that's all I got out of it. It's some kind of romance I think, and you like that stuff. So…"

She had to shake her head quickly in order to get her thoughts organized. "Sorry, Virgil. I'd love to go, but I…I have plans tonight."

She didn't like to see the disappointed look on Virgil's face. He looked like a sad little puppy. "Oh…what are you up to? Hanging out with Frieda?"

"Um, yeah. It's a bunch of girl stuff, you wouldn't like it."

"No, no. That's ok. I was just wondering that's all." He looked towards the floor, lips pursed, wondering what to do now. Richie wasn't around tonight, and it was Friday! Omar had invited him to a party, but he blew it off just to ask Daisy out. As for anyone else he hung out with…well…that was basically it. "What kind of girl stuff?"

"Virgil."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He scratched at the back of his head, turning to see a few other classmates playing some racing game. "Just, everyone else was busy. But it's ok. I'll just find someone else to hang out with. Omar's going to this party…"

"You know, I remember last year, he was so anit-party. But hey, maybe it'll be fun."

"Well, why don't you and Frieda go?"

"Oh," Daisy flinched at this. She wasn't really going to be with Frieda. Oh God. What was she going to do if Frieda did go to the party? She'd tell Virgil she didn't know where Daisy was. Then she'd get the third degree tomorrow. She wasn't going to lie, she was very attracted to Virgil, and had taken him up on his offers to go out multiple times, but once he got out of jail, well…she just couldn't seem to stay away. And what would she tell Virgil? "I'm dating a criminal mastermind by the way." Yeah, that would fly over real swell, especially considering how much he liked her. She couldn't just tell him to get lost though. "We decided to have a girl's night only. Sorry, no men allowed."

Virgil giggled. She liked it when he was happy. He looked so adorable. Like a happy-go-lucky puppy dog. "What if I put a dress on?"

Daisy had to giggle back. "Sorry, Virg. But no."

The X-Box caught Virgil's attention again, but this time the other students were playing Halo 2. Now Virgil was not going to pass up the chance to play Halo, so he turned to Daisy and said, "Maybe some other time then?" Daisy nodded and watched as Virgil called second game. She looked at the clock. Five more minutes to go.

XXX

Richie grunted as he kicked the back bumper of a Honda Civic, and then texted a message. "Fricken' piece of crap," he muttered as he kicked it again, the bumper falling off. "Aggh!" he punched the car this time, quickly regretting it and recoiled his hand, nursing it against his chest and then offering it a few kisses. "Ow." He had had to skip school today in order to get his hours in. He needed extra money and Black Top's shop was defiantly a place he could work without having to worry about uniforms or minimum wage. It wasn't cheap being a super hero, and stitching and mechanical parts didn't just fix themselves. It all involved money, and lately, he was running low. What with gas prices and his cell phone bill, not to mention the payments on his jeep…

He ran a greasy hand through his already greasy and quickly growing blonde hair, getting a smudge on his forehead, not caring though as he leant up against the Honda. His white wife-beater clung to his torso with sweat from the unpredicted heat of the April day. Was supposed to be in the forties, he thought to himself. His baggy shorts hung loosely on his hips, eighty dollar green sneakers on his feet. They were quickly becoming soaked though from the puddles of rain water and melting snow. He splashed one said puddle with the toe of his shoe and checked the time on his phone. 3:10. Just five more minutes left of school. He was hoping he could at least get one hour in of an educational lesson today, but, just as yesterday, there was no hope.

Richie looked around and was relived to see one of Black Top's better employees. It felt rather creepy working with the man that he had always had to fight in the past, but after several months, dealing with it was what kept him his job. And he couldn't afford to lose it. True his job was on the entire other end of Dakota, but it was definitely worth the gas with its paychecks. He could always get some online schooling to finish up his education. "Thank god you're here," he said with a grin as the older man quickly took over Richie's work. "Was afraid I'd never get this into the Shop."

"You always slowin' us down, Blondie," the man, who went by Tec around the neighborhood, told him, helping him to push the beater of a car the extra twenty feet to the garage.

"Yes well, slow and steady wins the race right?" Richie joked, straining his muscles just a little less thanks to Tec's help.

"Tell that to Shiv. Just lost to some rookie." The new tattoo on Tec's shoulder—a gun symbol of his gang the Nynes—pulsed over his muscle as he gave a big lug to the car, helping it along another five feet.

"You're shittin' me," Richie gave him a slightly bewildered look. "Dang, who was that?"

"Some kid who called himself Jolt. Can't even be eighteen yet."

"Ohho shit." Richie smirked and gave one last push as the car rolled into the Shop, Tec quickly calling others over to give orders as to what to do with the rundown Civic. In the meantime, Richie made himself useful by running out and grabbing the rear bumper, having to pull his pants up over his smiley face boxers as he leant down to grab it. Just as he had gotten a grip on the rusted metal, his cell phone went off with the sounds of Shakira. He grunted and then let the metal fall to the road, and quickly picked up the line, smirking as he did so. "Hey, babe," he said with a rather mischievous smile. "How ya doin?"

He chuckled as the girl on the other end started to giggle, telling him to "Wipe that dirt off your face".

XXX

School had ended over three hours ago, and Frieda still wasn't ready. She had finally found a shirt and a long skirt to wear, but once she put on her purple eye shadow, she quickly had to change. She hadn't even gotten her lipstick on yet, and she couldn't find the right pants. Maybe her homecoming dress? "No," she said, shaking her head, "too formal." Her knee length shorts and flip flops? "Too wet for flip flops." She held up a baby doll shirt with a spotted design. "Good enough," she muttered to herself, quickly pulling the shirt over her head and running to her vanity to quickly brush her hair back into place and apply a simple shade of lip gloss. "Mom!" she yelled, darting over her room and hanging over the staircase. "Have you seen my new pair of jeans?"

"No, hun. I haven't," her mother yelled back to her from downstairs. Frieda scowled, growled, and ran back to her room, huffing.

"God, I can't find anything to wear." She slumped onto her bed and pouted her lip. She wanted to look nice. It's not like it wasn't a date date, but it was still a date, and although it wasn't a get ALL dressed up kind of date, she still had to get a little bit dressed up. Sighing, she fell back into her sheets and splayed her arms out, hoping that maybe he would come late or something. Something that would give her time to find the right clothes to wear.

Suddenly, her bright pink phone went off and upon seeing her caller ID, she quickly grabbed a pair of wedge heels, accepted the jeans she was already wearing, pulled her purse over her shoulder, and clumsily ran down the stairs, saying into the phone, "I'm on my way." Before her father could even stop her to ask her who she was going out with—she had told him earlier that she was going out with a few friends, but he would obviously still inquire as to whom she was going—she was out the door and near sprinting to the most hideous color of maroon Pontiac across the street. She hoped her parents hadn't seen who was driving.

Upon entering the car, she was greeted with a kiss by what she believed to be "the most magical lips ever". "Where've you been?" the driver asked, adjusting his beanie, small strands of bright red hair peaking out from underneath. "I've been waiting for ten minutes."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I couldn't find anything to wear." She smiled up at him with pouty lips and apologized again. He couldn't help but smile right back at her for her cute banter of "pouty lip".

"I forgive you," he chuckled, leant over to give her another kiss, put the car into drive, and started out by taking his date to some movie he really didn't want to see, but knew she would love.

XXX

You can probably guess what the last pairing was in this chapter, but the other two I've had paired up for a long long time, ever since I saw the movie Frida or however that name was spelled—I think that's right—many years ago. I know that they are not the pairings that everyone else expects, but that is what is expected from me. Please review.


	2. Friday Night Flames

You know this chapter took way too long than it should've. I am peeved. Anyways…drugs and alcohol but only as a party sense, and a need to get laid sense. And due to my OC Billy's vulgar mouth, I might soon have to post this under M pretty soon.

XXX

Secrets Aren't Lies

Chapter two

Friday Night Flames

XXX

Hotstreak was not at all interested in the movie. If anything…he was downright exhausted of the thing. He felt himself getting drowsy, and more than once Frieda had to punch him in the shoulder to get him to wake up every time he nodded his head down to his chest. He grunted in annoyance. Already, the girlfriend and boyfriend in the movie were in Paris and the boyfriend had accidentally entered a gay bar while looking for some escape from his talkative and knowledgable girlfriend, but wound up drinking some green stuff and waking up the next morning next to some cute French twinky. And there was still another hour and a half to go.

Hotstreak groaned and ran his hands over his face, cursing himself mentally for letting himself fall for the brunette next to him, and letting his shall we say, more sensitive side show for her. He couldn't believe that he had sunk so low as to take this girl, who wasn't even eighteen yet--and if his PO found out, he'd be in a bigger shitload of trouble than he already was--out to a -gulp- romance movie. He groaned again.

"Oh my god, can you believe this, baby?" he heard Frieda's louder than inside voice ring in his ear, and turned his head slightly to glance at her bewildered face, which was damn near plastered to the image on the big screen. Not only did he take her to a romance movie, he also let her pick the row to sit in--the third row from the front--and was quickly regretting the whole date. Maria and Teresa were nothing like this. Nothing at all.

"What?" the redhead didn't mean for his voice to sound annoyed, but luckily, Frieda was too into the movie to notice.

"I sure hope you wouldn't leave me at the Louve to go to hook up with some hot Frenchie." She smiled, then giggled, and muched on her milk duds.

"You know I wouldn't, babe." But in the back of his mind, he was saying, I wish I could leave you here right now, but his better half kept him from thinking further on the matter. He may have hated the movie, and the whole being a softy, but he liked Frieda a lot more than he hated his terrible choices, and so, gave her a "I love you to the stars" smile, and a peck on the lips, wishing they were sitting in the back row and away from all these people, especially this little blonde girl he was forced to sit next too. He tried his best to ignore her constant staring, and tried to avoid it by persuading his girlfriend to give him some tongue during the more boring parts of the movie, but now that the movie couple's problems had started, Frieda was not going to miss a second. So he just crossed his arms and closed his eyes, trying to pretend the little girl was not right next to him. It all backfired though when she sneezed on his bare arm. He even tried to walk out of the movie after that, but Frieda would have none of it. Even after the little blonde girl had apologized, and then spilt her soda on his lap.

An hour and a half later, Hotstreak was slugging along next to the brunette as they exited the theater, barely paying attention to her surprised and eager reviews of the movie. "I can't believe it just ended like that!" she nearly screamed in his ear, and he did literally flinch from it. "I mean, the girl just forgives him and lets him go. God, I would give him the bitching of a lifetime if he did that to me. And especially if he chose the other guy over me. Ohhh! That movie just irks me, but it was still really good. I mean, the part where Max and Andy are being all lovey dovey was really really cute, and Michelle was just a bitch in the beginning. I mean, aren't you glad I'm not as controlling as her?"

"Huh?" Hotstreak was more worried about his still drying shorts. "Yeah." He was quick to lead her as far away from the movie theater as possible, in case she saw another advertisement for a lame movie, which he was not going to see.

"Hey, we should see that one next."

Hotstreak flinched again. Too late.

XXX

Daisy couldn't believe she had fallen for Trapper for the third time in her life. Back at Vanmoor, it was an entirely different setting. She was fourteen, he was eighteen, she was too good for him, he believed he was too good for her. And then the Janitor's closet came into their view one day, and the rest was a brilliant history.

His arm snaked around her shoulders and his jeans clad leg was pressed against hers. She smiled when he smiled, and laughed when he laughed, and even smiled at him when he wasn't looking. The tough decision to stay with him as a girlfriend was on her mind constantly, and she wished the alcohol would hurry up and do its job, so she could stop worrying, and start acting on her plans for the long haired blonde.

"Gonna need a room soon?" the black haired girl before them said as she packed a bowl.

"Oh, I don't know…" Daisy teased Trapper with her dark eyes and flirtatious smile as she ran a hand through his pony tail, and she giggled. Daisy never really was good with alcohol. "In a little bit."

"Are you almost done with that thing?" Trapper inquired, eyeing the multicolored bowl in the opposite girl's hands.

"Gimme a minuto, dude," she demanded back.

Her name was Billy Perez Dowen, and she opened her house to Daisy when they met just last year, when Billy was living with her older brother and twin sister. It was Daisy's first alcoholic party, and Billy was quick to befriend her. Sure the natural blonde haired girl was a bit eccentric in her own self, but she was quick to love, and Daisy had started visiting the girl on a regular basis. Especially once she had gotten together with Trapper. It was one of the few places they could go to be with each other and not worry. Billy described her home as a safe house, and Daisy took full advantage.

Billy's real name was Brownie, but she never gave a real reason as to why people called her Billy, and was half Mexican, and an eighth Cherokee, which was seen rather blatantly with her nose. She went to school on the opposite end of Dakota Union, down in what the local residents called Downy Ville due to its poverty and violence stricken streets. The neighborhood was originally called Canton, but after gangs started to infiltrate the lower parts of the city, its name was quickly reestablished as Downy Ville, though its original was still seen on the schools and banks and such. She shared a house with her sister and three other illegal Mexican immigrants, whose only concerns were sex and beer. Not to mention, she also lived with Trapper. She opened her home to him as well. Her roomates' interests were pretty much the same Billy had, though this girl's eccentricity was a bit more stand outish. I.e. she didn't have a problem talking about sex in front of other people, or anything really. Billy was just…well, Billy. That's all Daisy had to say about the matter.

"So, what, hiding out from your fams again?" Billy asked as she took the first hit, letting the smoke out slow, and then passed it on over to Trapper.

"Nothing I have to worry about," Trapper answered, coughing on his hit, and taking the rest of his beer down with it. "Got anymore?" he asked, tears coming to his eyes from the excursion.

"Dude, we live with Mexicans, of course there's more. Hold up." Before Trapper could raise himself to get his own beer, Billy was off to do it for him. She was like that, he learned. She was the beer bitch, and she didn't have a qualm about it.

The blonde haired man turned to look at the girl to his side, who was slumped down in the couch, her hit already taken, and her can of Coors sitting between her legs. He had to smile. She looked nothing like wut she was doing, but then again…Billy didn't look like she was eighteen.

As Billy came back into the room, easily stepping over her roommates' mess with her stelletos she handed the beer to Trapper, and took a seat for her turn at the bowl.

"Anything new?" she asked, and coughed on her hit.

"Nothin' much," Trapper told her, tapping his beer before opening it. Daisy's umpteenth beer was already gone, and it was easily seen by the way she could barely stand up on her own to go to the bathroom. "Waiting for my partner to get out of jail."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Billy decided she had had enough weed for now, and lit up a Marlb. "The boy toy. Hehe. When's he gettin' out again?"

"Couple months I think," the blonde told her, rubbing Daisy's shoulder with his fingers. She was definitely smashed, and her impaired speech was showing it.

"Dude," Daisy slurred, sitting up to point her finger in Trapper's face. "Riley, honey, you know she just wants to…to fuck him right?" she could barely keep her eyes open, she couldn't make a straight face, and the resin in the bowl, which she had greedily taken four more hits out of, was quickly spilling onto her jeans. Billy was quick to take the bowl back from the drunken Daisy before she lost anymore of her money makers.

"Damn straight. I'd love to fuck 'im," Billy announced. "Dude's damned hot as hell."

"I thought you already, you know…did stuff." By now, Daisy had lost most control of her body, and her instinctual sexual urges were showing as she wrapped her legs over Trapper's.

"What we did barely counts. And that was like, last year dude. 'Sides," she took a long drag of her cigarette. "I'm datin' Brittany, remember."

"Who?" Daisy was quickly confused by the most simplest of things. "Baby, wus she talkin' bout?" she smiled at the blonde man, whose lap was completely taken over by her body now, and raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"Oh boy," Trapper could see that he was in for a long night, especially when Daisy was a hard to getter. "Richie, remember. The blonde one who works with me at the Shop. Billy calls him Brittany for some reason. God he goes to school with you…"

"Reminds me of this blonde whore I know named Brittany," Billy added.

"Oh…" Daisy's "oh" was quickly followed by multiple he he's and snickers and chuckles. She then started to kiss all over Trapper's face, and that's when he took her beer away from her, seeing that she had had enough to drink and smoke, and it was time to take her to bed. After all, it was Friday night, and her parents thought she was at some other dude's party.

"Dude, wait, my man's gotta get here before you two go at it," Billy quickly said before Trapper could lead the darker girl to his room.

"Why is that?" Trapper asked, just as confused as Daisy had been.

"Well…I'll feel mutter uckin' lonely if you guys are having coher and I'm not." Billy made it sound like it was the end of the world. "Unless you wanna do a threesome."

"I think you would like that too much. Now if you'll excuse me…" he lifted Daisy up by her hips and slung her over his shoulder, Daisy herself, giggling to death. "I have more important matters to attend to than your loneliness. As you usually say, adios." Billy stared dumbfounded as her roomate carried his girl off to bed.

"Well…this sucks like a hooker and a half," she muttered, leaning her chin in one hand.

Around eleven thirty, her other three roomates showed up from work, speaking in Spanish to one another and heading straight for the beer in the fridge. At quarter to twelve, Richie showed up, and showed Billy the new tongue piercing she had given him earlier that month.

"Told ya ya looked hot as hell," Billy grabbed the tongue ring with her fingers and decided she wanted to make Richie pissed right the fuck off. She liked it when he got angry.

XXX

He wasn't too big of a fan of 50 Cent, but at least the loud pounding music numbed his thoughts a bit. He weaved through drunken bodies with a cold cup of Pepsi in his hand. Virgil wasn't much into drinking. And if Richie was here he'd for sure be spiking his sodas by now. And so, since Richie wasn't here, he found himself to be one of the few sober beings in the entire house. And for some reason, he kept expecting Daisy or Frieda to walk through the door. He had called Frieda earlier that day after school, to see if she was at all available. But she had told him the same as Daisy. They had plans together.

"Watch it," said a blonde girl with red streaks in her hair. Virgil rolled his eyes as she shoved passed him, not paying attention to the rather warm pressure she had put upon his shoulder.

He tried to find Omar several times, but the other teenager was nowhere to be seen. He had even asked a few of the party goers where he was at, but they only shook their heads and went about their drinking games or back into their pot smoking rooms. Virgil regretted ever coming to this party.

Ever since Richie had gotten that job at the Shop, much to Virgil's dismay, his social life had been dwindling. He was pretty sure Frieda had some older boyfriend she didn't want anyone to know about. Daisy was acting real weird lately too. And even Shenice, annoying big mouth Shenice, was too busy for him.

"Would you look out!"

Virgil flinched from the hard shove. Speak of the Devil, he thought. He turned around to see said Devil girl giving him a rather dirty look. "You may be the only sober person here, but that doesn't mean you have to stand in the middle of the room."

"Yeah seriously, this is a high traffic area." This came from the black haired boy at Shenice's side. He was rather thin, and wore tight girl-looking pants with studded designs on them, along with a short backed leather jacket. He quirked a brow at Virgil, a bitch face glaring.

"Sorry," Virgil mocked back at them, in a rather cranky way as well.

The two glared and walked on, the black haired boy a bit more tipsy than the girl leading the way.

Virgil whirred his lips, staring back at the odd looking couple, and decided he needed some air. But the time it took him to get to the patio was more than he would have bargained for. Especially considering there was a freshman girl there trying to get down his pants, and a senior boy trying to start threats with him. He was even tempted to use his powers to shock his way out, but thought against it. He figured threats and hands were better than everyone figuring out he was Static.

Upon exiting the house and stepping onto the wet-from-melted-snow surface of the deck, he scanned the area for any remaining dry chairs, and was unfortunate to find none. So, he walked to the railing and set his pepsi on a small wooden table, sighing out at the snowy landscape. He had taken the night off of patrolling due to the fact that there seemed to be less crime in the city, especially since most of the bang babies were cured. Lack of power caused for lack of success in criminalization. And so, Static found himself with more free time on his hands. Sure there were the usual suspects…but that didn't much call for much of his help.

While running his thoughts through Richie's constant working and Frieda and Daisy's constant excuses, the patio door slid open, or more like slung open, and the girl with the red highlights in her hair came stalking out, grunting about something or other that was apparently not working out in her life. Virgil watched as she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and searched her Tripp pants for a lighter. Virgil hadn't seen anyone dressed like her in a while. What with the chains on her pants, the studded bands on her wrists, and the Hellboy belly shirt covering most of her top at least…he was surprised to see she wasn't freezing. Even he had to grab his jacket before he came outside.

"Fuck, shit," he heard her mutter to herself as she was obviously unable to find a lighter.

He took his eyes away once he noticed the strange looking girl making her way towards him. "Hey," she grumbled. "Dude." Virgil turned his head to see her, noticing her pierced eyebrow, lip, and nose. "You got a light?" He now noticed her tongue piercing as well. After shaking his head no, he watched her groan with annoyance, and dig around her pockets again, cigarette dangling from her lips.

After averting his gaze back upon the slightly snow covered lawn, he sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Wuts up with you?" the girl asked him, and when he turned back around, her cigarette was lit.

"Nothing," he said shaking his head. "Find your lighter?"

"Uh…yeah. Finally." She pulled the cigarette away and let out a cloud of smoke, looking behind her for a chair.

"I wouldn't sit down," Virgil tried warning her, but she seemed not to hear him, or she was just ignoring him. "Isn't it wet?" She didn't seem fazed at all by the melted snow.

She shook her head and took another puff. "Seems dry to me." She lifted herself up and Virgil noticed that it was indeed dry. He shook his head again and leant his back on the railing.

It wasn't only thirty seconds later that he decided to strike up a conversation with the smoking girl. After all, she didn't go to his school, and didn't seem any older than seventeen or eighteen. "Where are you from?"

"Huh?" she raised one eyebrow at him, blowing out yet another cloud of smoke.

"I mean," he ran a hair over his dreadlocks. "I haven't seen you around here before."

"Oh." Another drag. "I'm from the Ville. Other side of town, ya know." She shook her shoulders and stretched out her legs. "I'm here with a friend. Well not really a friend but…ya know."

"Whose that?"

"Fuck…Izzy. Little boy. Gay as a mofo."

"Black hair and leather jacket. Looks like a girl?"

She nodded.

"Hm…" He looked to the sky for a moment while shoving his hands into his coat pockets. "He's gotten different."

"Tell me about it. Back in Cali, at least he acted like a banger, but now he's just," she shuttered, "gay. Prolly fuckin' that girl he's walkin' round with too I mean…shit he fucked my sister, why not this bitch?"

"Pssht. Wouldn't doubt it," Virgil quipped and placed an elbow upon the railing. "You originally from California?"

Another head shake, and another drag. "Nope. Was just there for a while. My sister had some beneficial friend over there and my ex was over there for the summer. Now he's stuck in the quarantine."

"They were serious about that? The quarantine?"

"Yeah. No one goes in. No one goes out. Madden twins are stuck over there too. But…that'll happen when you got dumbass scientists messin' with nature and shit." Yet another drag and she threw the cigarette to the snow below the patio. And before Virgil knew it, she was lighting up another one. "You smoke?" she asked as she offered him the pack.

"No. Never liked it much."

She nodded, and placed the pack on her lap before shielding her cigarette from the wind so as to light it successfully. Once again, Virgil noticed she had no lighter in her hand when she pulled it away.

"You wanna let me in on how you're lighting your cigarettes?" He figured why not ask. She already looked slightly buzzed.

After blowing out a puff of smoke, she set her green eyes upon him, skeptically. He could tell she wasn't a trusting person right away, and so looked to the ground before looking back up, silent of course. She ran her eyes back and forth across his shoulders, down his chest, down his legs, and at his lugz. She then went back up, scoffed at his hair, and took another drag, turning her head to the side. "Do you need to know?" Another drag after this.

"I was just wondering that's all." He decided to let the matter drop. It wasn' that important, but apparently the girl before him wanted to answer, because when he turned towards her again she had her left hand extended out, and with an evil looking smirk, she ignited a flame within her palm. She twirled it around her fingers and over the other side and then let her whole hand be engulfed by the blue-orange flame. Virgil stared, awestruck. "Are you a…"

"Bang baby?" she scoffed again. "Nah. Born this way." She played with the fire in her hand, letting it crawl up to her elbow and then dimming it down again, all the while smiling at it, looking at it, and it blazed in her eyes. This Virgil could see, and he gulped. Not from fright, or shock, but…from something different. Something he couldn't quite explain. It was like looking at a candle's flame as a child. During his third grade story times, he remembered his teacher lighting a candle, and all the kids would rush to sit by it. Whatever made him be obsessed with the flame back then was triggered now, and he stared, and stared, and stared. That is until the girl with the red highlights noticed this, and swept the flame out with the closing of her hand. "Like?" Two more drags from her cigarette.

"Didn't know…you know. A lot of people aren't usually _born_ with this…um…" he rubbed the back of his neck, wondering of flames, and trying to get his vision back to normal.

"I know. It's really different," the girl said as she stood up, preparing to head back inside. "I have to go find Izzy…tell 'im I'm leaving…"

As she headed for the patio doors, a shake of his head brought Virgil back to reality, away form the world of flames and pretty girls controlling them. Wait. Pretty girls? He was never before attracted to a girl such as her... Either way. "Wait…what's your name again?"

She stopped slowly and turned to tell him her name was Mindy. And that was all. She didn't even ask for his name back as she headed inside. Not long after, Virgil heard an engine rev, and looked around the side of the house to see the girl named Mindy pull out of the yard in a black Expedition and speed down the street. He wondered…why did she show off her flames? After much contemplation, Virgil sighed once again, and returned back to the warmth within the house. Someone had spiked his Pepsi while he wasn't looking. And he found Omar passed out in the bathroom.

XXX

Hotstreak and Trapper with girls. I'm sorry, I like those pairings. It's basically a Hotstreak doing better in his life a wee bit kind of thing. LOL.


End file.
